LIVE: Braves can clinch tonight (and it starts with Lowe)
The Braves will do more scoreboard watching tonight, and hope to have another banner to raise.
Amid all of the angst of the Braves’ collapse (10-18), the injured starters (Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson), the slumping hitters (Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, Brian McCann) and the overused bullpen, guess what? The Braves can actually clinch the wild card tonight.
OK, for that to happen, the Braves need to hit a long-odds parlay: 1) The maligned starter, Derek Lowe, needs a strong outing to defeat the Phillies at Turner Field; 2) The St. Louis Cardinals need to lose for a second straight game in Houston. Those two developments would give the Braves the National League wild card spot for the second straight year, and render Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Philadelphia meaningless.
Few expected the Cards to lose to the Astros Monday night. It happened (5-4 in 10 innings). But the Braves’ postseason chances mostly hinge on Lowe. If he and the Braves win tonight, at worst the magic number is down to one, with Tim Hudson on the mound Wednesday against Joe Blanton (advantage: Braves).
What the Braves need is the Lowe of Sept. 2010, not 2011. Last season, he went 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA (29 strikeouts, three walks) in his final five regular season starts. But this has been the worst season of his career. He’s 9-16 with a 4.92 ERA. He’s 0-4 in his last four starts with an 8.24 ERA (though his last start at Florida was solid).
The other obvious issue for the Braves is a lack of offense. They lost 4-2 on Monday, have scored two or fewer runs in four of their last five games and three or fewer in six of their last 10. They’re also hitting only .239 in the month of September and .181 (32-for-177) with with runners in scoring position this month.
They’ll need to break out of that against the Phillies’ Roy Oswalt, who has been strong in two starts against the Braves this season (1-0, 2.08 in two starts) but in his career is only 1-3 with a 5.15 ERA.
As you prepare to scoreboard watch, your second favorite team, the Astros, will start Henry Sosa (3-5, 4.68) against the Cardinals’ Jake Westbrook (12-9, 4.48).
And with that, I turn it over to you. We wait to see what Lowe gives us.
Can this be an omen? There was a rainbow over Turner Field two hours before the Braves' game.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,258 comments Add your comment
Big Wally
September 27th, 2011
9:21 pm
The Braves have hit what, 4 balls hard the whole night. This team is pathetic.
Dlowe
September 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
Look on the bright side. When I pitch the big three relievers get a rest so Fredi can not over use them.
Roy Oswalt
September 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
Thanks for the tuneup. If you ever truly thought the Braves were our equal this year, raise your hands. Be honest now.
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
Wow, Bourn sure was a good pick-up!
PMC
September 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
The Postal Service is actually solvent this month because the Braves have mailed this one in.
C3PO
September 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
Bourn probably wished he was still with Astros…
count_schemula
September 27th, 2011
9:22 pm
Awful.
man and dog
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
At least Cox choked with dignity.
James
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
Cardinals are coming back.
Elonbrave
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
I can’t think of a single player who is playing good ball right now on the Braves roster. Anyone?
Hit A Single
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
Bartman is my cousin and he says that all the Cubs and Alou can go to you know where. The Cubs make excuses for everything.
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
Hit a single-Great choices-Earl and Felix!!!!! I don’t care what anyone says Bob Horner had the best home run swing I have ever seen! We sucked back then but we didn’t care-we knew we wouldnt win but it was fun!!!
dogoneit
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
GO BRAVES!!!!………………………back to the batting cage.
TGT
September 27th, 2011
9:23 pm
The lack of passion on the part of the fans at Turner Field is disturbing. They should be booing every Phillies hit and every Braves out!!!
I hope the Cards get in. This sorry, historic collapse by the Braves needs to be complete and born (like a “Scarlet Letter”) by the perpetrators!
C3PO
September 27th, 2011
9:24 pm
Chipper was all alone on bench in dugout. Cold shoulder abounds.
Coach
September 27th, 2011
9:24 pm
@George Possible – But, I agree with you, it wasn’t his fault
kerryb
September 27th, 2011
9:24 pm
I guess champagne will keep until next September.
FlaBrave695
September 27th, 2011
9:24 pm
There is a bright side to this…ajc has a nice Chevy Silverado ad on the right side of this page..
rugburn
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
big wally .. at least 3 of those were foul
Sonny Clusters
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
Getting Linebrink just makes it all so very special.
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
Linebrink is in-we have conceded!
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
Oh great, mop up guy Linescore – I mean on the Brink of disaster.
extremus
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
The Astros have 104 losses and right now they’re playing with more fire in their bellies than this lifeless bunch. Changes, they are a comin’ (probably shortly after tomorrow’s game)!!! And they NEED to. They NEED to. Time to clean house and get rid of the dead weight (of which there is a lot on the Braves currently).
Geno
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
I just got on here. What’s happening? Are the Braves winning?
count_schemula
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
I was at a game last year and Lowe was suckin’ and Glaus was suckin’. So I started booing and calling them crooks and frauds. You should have seen the pasty lily white fan base around me acting like I was less than genteel. Screw this. Winnipeg Braves. Make it happen.
jim692
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
“We Will Win It All” never say things like that till after the game. The baseball gods can be nasty when angered.
kerryb
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
Someone needs to ask Joe who looked great in BP tonight before the game.
Coach
September 27th, 2011
9:25 pm
Maybe the Hawks will do well…Assuming the lockout ends
Jack Daniels
September 27th, 2011
9:26 pm
Please Lady Ga Ga dance for us Keep us awake in the stands.
Vain Jangling
September 27th, 2011
9:26 pm
Chico Escuela, phone home.
Hit A Single
September 27th, 2011
9:26 pm
Old Dawg – I agree, Bob had such a compact swing and probably the best natural hitter the Braves have had next to Aaron and Carty. Loved to watch him hit. Man what great memories.
Heyward grounds out to second
September 27th, 2011
9:26 pm
I don’t want the Cards to put me out of my misery, but at the same time watching this team over the last month has been like being beaten in the face by Mike Tyson in his prime on a daily basis.
Part of me wants to this to just end. The nonchalant attitude by this team is absurd. Players are clearly injured and are still playing. While I admire the guts, don’t you think it’d be better if 168 hitting McCann and half a leg Chipper should be subbed for people who are healthy?
Chip’s been killing it, but he can’t swing the bat when he’s just on one leg.
Mac has been horrid for a couple of months now and is completely out of shape.
This team looks defeated, doesn’t produce and is the most unclutch team I’ve seen down this stretch.
We looked so good a month ago.
I’m ready for next year. I got out of school tonight around 8 and turned on the radio and heard it was 3-0 on the way home and I’m not even bothering to turn on the game because I know we won’t score any runs. This’ll be the first time I don’t even wanna watch the Braves.
I hope the Cards kind of put us out of our misery. I hate to say that. I really do. But the way this team has conducted itself over the last month is unacceptable.
Then again I want us to get back to the post season. I want this team to succeed. But it’s like if this is what we’re gonna see night in and night out then…. Good lord.
Management has sucked, players have sucked, this month has sucked. This whole team needs a complete look over.
I think the future is bright for this team and organization once we get everyone healthy, but right now, things are hopeless.
I predict a one game playoff with STL, and that they beat us 4-0.
Only reason I even see us going that far is that Huddy is pitching tomorrow.
Just gotta hope the Astros can hold on here.
God I can’t even think straight. I wanna vomit watching this team. It really breaks my heart seeing a group of extremely talented players fall apart.
Vino Fino
September 27th, 2011
9:26 pm
This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen in over 30 years of following baseball!!!!
Flailing Grade
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Phillies got Pence, Braves picked up MiKKKKel Bourn. No more need be said.
Boca Baby
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
I hate to say to say it but the Braves are terrible and Fredi Gonzales looks like a deer in the headlights.
Old Dawg Fan
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Sutton warming up in the braves bull pen.
up north
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Isn’t it about time for Morganna to run across the field?
jim692
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
I can’t believe i am rooting for Houston.
rally
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Scott Proctor, in one at-bat, drove in more runs than this bunch of losers.
count_schemula
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Cards tie it up! Go Cardnals! It’s there for the taking. Take it.
Coach
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Cards tied….How come they can come back and Braves cant?
MitchC
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Cards tie it. The WC will be tied after tonight.
Maybe it would be best if we went home tomorrow. We have played so bad, why play three playoff games? This is so humiliating, that our winter might as well begin tomorrow around 10pm.
FlaBrave695
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Cards just tied it……
rugburn
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
kerryb… the pitcher
Flailing Grade
September 27th, 2011
9:27 pm
Kerry B – great line about the BP
G
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
5-5… Cardinals showing heart, they deserve it
Geno
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
We’re playing a drinking game. One shot for every run scored by the Phillies, 2 shots for every homer and 3 for every pitcher the Braves use. I’m feeling very sick.
Hit A Single
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
I feel for Freddi. Kind of like a snack machine and you mash all the buttons and none of them work.
O'Brien
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
5-5 in Houston
pacman
September 27th, 2011
9:28 pm
Go cards!